beneath my feet
by localbitch
Summary: erik has a seemingly stable life with his wife, christine...until betrayal and tragedy strike in the place he least expected it.
1. Chapter 1

five am. erik stanley steemer slapped his name tag onto the left tit of his blue overalls. he was the picture of fashion, grace, and style, accentuating the deep blue of the overalls with a bright yellow shirt. another day on the job. he stared at himself in the mirror.

"today, we are going to clean carpets. we're going to make these carpets cleaner than they've ever damn been. now let's get to work."

he exited the bathroom and went back into the bedroom where his wife lay fast asleep. he kissed her on the cheek and got into the yellow company van to head to the office.

when he entered the building, erik commanded instant respect. as a direct descendant of stanley steemer the first, who had founded the company in 1947, he played an important role. it was vital he kept things running smoothly so america's carpets remained in pristine condition. he greeted his employees as he passed them on the way to his desk.

when he sat down in his office, his secretary presented him with his schedule for the day. he skimmed it over his cup of coffee. the first job was at 6 am. the homeowners had four carpeted rooms to be cleaned while they were out on vacation. the job would be taken care of by three of his employees, stanley, stanley, and stanley, respectively. at 7 o clock, someone had a sheep-fur carpet in need of a cleaning. sheep fur was a difficult carpet to clean, and it required an experienced hand. erik himself would take the job, and he chose his long time associate, stanley, to work the job with him.

he reviewed the rest of his cleanings for the day, and spent the time until seven finishing business paperwork and making calls with other executives and managers.

"good morning, stanley," erik said, as he met his employee at the cubicle. "you ready to go for that sheep-fur carpet cleaning?"

"of course," stanley replied, as he got up from his desk. "finally something interesting. i've been cleaning air ducts for the last week. because, as you know, stanley steemer does more than just carpets. our state-of-the-art cleaning equipment and highly skilled technicians are available for furniture cleaning, tile and grout, hardwood, air ducts, and emergency water restoration, 24/7, right at your doorstep."

"that's right, stanley. our network of over 280 independently owned and operated locations, operating in 57 states, our professional deep cleaning services provide the care and maintenance necessary to extend the life of your floors and furnishings. now let's get to work!"

erik and stanley got in the iconic yellow van equipped with all their cleaning supplies, and drove to the home. they greeted the homeowner at the door with handshakes and pleasant smiles. "this is the rug," he said, as he took them through the home. "the sheep-fur is wonderfully soft, but it definitely needs a professional clean."

"that's what we're here for, sir," erik answered. "do you have any stains or areas of concern?"

"yes," he said. "the other day, i spilled wine in this corner over here. we placed the chair over it, of course, but it is rather an eyesore."

"that'll be no problem, sir. our proprietary cleaning solution can handle even the toughest of stains," stanley reassured.

"great. i also have a stain from one of my slugs. my dog, crispy, got into the room where i keep all of my slug enclosures, got away with my dear vincent and killed him! right there, by the pineapple shaped floor lamp."

"are you a slug breeder, sir? my aunt is in the same profession," stanley commented.

"yes- my slugs are my pride and joy. i love them so very much," the homeowner said.

"well, sir," erik interjected, "i believe we're ready to begin our work. we like to have the homeowner involved in every step of the process, so first, we'll begin by putting corner guards on all your walls, and sealing the windows, and then my associate stanley and i will move your furniture out of the room."

once the preliminary steps were completed, erik and stanley set up their equipment and vacuumed the room. then, they use Stanley Steemer's proprietary cleaning solution to break the tension of the sheep-fur carpet and release dirt and allergens. they rinsed the carpet using the hot water traction method. once they were finished, the wine stain and the slug stain were gone.

"thank you so much," the homeowner said, shaking erik and stanley's hands at the same time, arms crossed. "my slugs will love the new look of the place. wow, look at the clean"

erik and stanley got back in the van. "do you want to go out for a drink?" stanley asked.

"a job well doen and a satisfied customer? i think we deserve it."

erik and stanley drove to the nearest bar, but they were all closed at 8 am. finally, the two stanley steemer employees settled on mimosas at a classy brunch joint.

"i'll go get our drinks," stanley said, and returned later with two champagne flutes of the bright orange cocktail. they clinked glasses. erik took a sip.

"this is strong," he said, pulling back momentarily.

"this place makes good mimosas!" stanley commented cheerfully. erik didn't quite agree, but stanley had offered to cover the cost for both of them, and didn't want to be rude to his oldest associate. he lifted the glass to his lips once more.

after drinks, they returned to the van to drive back to the office. once they reached the parking lot, stanley got out of the car, but erik did not.

"you can wash away stains on carpets, erik, but no apology could ever destain my soul."

he slammed the van door shut.


	2. give me the borger

"what? there's- there's no way! it can't- it can't be…." christine crumpled to the ground.

"i'm sorry, ma'am. there was nothing we could do."

christine had wondered all night why her husband hadn't returned from work promptly at 8 pm on thursday night, as he always did. at 8:30, she assumed he was running late, or stuck in traffic, and would be home soon. at 8:45, she sent a text. at 9:00, she called his phone once. it rang, and rang, and he didn't pick up.

she called again. there was no answer.

she went to bed worried, and tossed and turned for hours before she could sleep.

she awoke to knocks at her front door. she answered it to see two cops. "hello, ma'am, are you christine steemer?"

"yes, yes i am," she answered hurriedly.

"we're here because of your husband- may we come in?"

"yes, please do- where is he? what happened to him? is he alright, is he in the hospital? he didn't come home last night and he didn't pick up his phone and i've been so worried-"

"ma'am…. your husband has died."

"oh my god…. he fuckin dead," christine murmured. "he fuckin dead…. rip."

"we need you to identify the body to make sure it is him."

christine agreed, and the two police officers drove her to the morgue, where erik's body was being kept. she shuttered as she entered the cold room. they began to pull back the cloth covering the body on the table, but christine told them to stop. "no… it's him, i know it's him. his left pinky toe…. it was deformed at birth. i would recognize it anywhere."

"are you performing an autopsy? when will you know how he died?"

"we're not quite sure, ma'am, but we believe your husband commit suicide."

"he would never! he was the head of the Stanley Steemer carpet company! he was the grandson of stanley steemer, who created the business in 1947 when he invested 2,000 dollars into a local cleaning business!"

"ma'am…. we know it may be hard to believe, but suicide does look like the only possible cause of death for mr. steemer. we're going to close the case."

christine left the morgue and returned home. erik couldn't have commit suicide! there was no way he'd do something like that, she thought. i have to look into this case myself.

the next day, christine went to the Stanley Steemer offices. upon her arrival, she was greeted by stanley, whom she knew as erik's longest employee and most trusted colleague.

"mrs. steemer, i'm so sorry about your loss," he said. "i worked with erik for many years; we knew each other well. please, come into my office, and let's chat."

stanley lead her to his office. "hm," she commented. "wasn't this my husband's office?" she asked, but stanley didn't answer.

"take a seat," he said. "would you like a drink?"

"yes, i would appreciate that very much," she replied, sitting down in the seat across the desk. stanley placed a glass in her hand. "thank you."

she sipped the glass of water calmly as stanley began to talk to her, but the words became hard to hear, and the man across from her slowly began harder and harder to see… she rubbed her eyes, trying to get some clarity, and then it all went black.

Hamburger Helper


End file.
